UNHCR expects 250,000 refugees to return to Syria in 2019

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (“UNHCR)” said on Tuesday that as many as 250,000 Syrian refugees could return home in the coming year

Ameen Awad, director of the Middle East and North Africa Department of the UNHCR, said in a press statement that about 5.6 million Syrian refugees are still in neighboring countries including Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq.

“We expect at this stage the return of up to 250 thousand Syrians in 2019. This figure can increase or decrease in accordance with the pace at which we work and remove the obstacles that hinder their return”

He pointed out that many Syrian refugees face problems in documents and ownership, which the Syrian government should contribute to solve.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that UNHCR had asked for its assistance in resolving the issue of what is rumored that the Syrian government is imposing on returnees pay a fee of up to 300 dollars per family, in exchange for the issuance of the required papers.